Storm Knocks Down Trees, Power Lines Across Napa County
NAPA COUNTY, CA — The Napa Police Department announced at 4 p.m. Tuesday that Coombsville Road was closed between Silverado Trail and Davis Avenue until further notice due to power lines down. Police asked community members to avoid the area and take alternate routes.
It was among the many road closures prompted by downed trees and power lines Tuesday across the county and the Bay Area as an atmospheric river-driven storm and gusty winds hit the region.
“Due to very saturated soils, even winds on the lower end of the speed range can cause downed trees,” the Napa County Office of Emergency Services said. “When trees fall, this can be a threat to lives, cause power outages, and add debris to our roadways.”
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CAL FIRE/Napa County Fire confirmed Tuesday afternoon it responded to several downed trees across roadways, into power lines, and even into homes.
The California Highway Patrol and San Rafael police said at 3:38 p.m. Tuesday they were closing the eastbound direction of the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge due to an overturned big rig. The bridge closure is expected to be “long term,” authorities said, because the big rig can’t be turned back over until the wind dies down.
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Parts of highways 12, 101, 116 and 121 throughout Sonoma County were affected by flooding and tree maintenance work, according to Caltrans.
“Please continue to exercise caution when on the road,” Napa County officials said. “If you see a downed or sagging power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it, stay clear of the area, call 911 and PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.”
Storm-Related Power Outages
As of 4:30 p.m., there were 296,067 Bay Area customers without power, including 8,186 in the North Bay and at least 500 in Napa County.
“PG&E has been preparing for this storm,” PG&E Spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian said. “PG&E has a plan, and we will execute that plan. This includes the use of storm outage prediction models that help us determine the potential timing, location and number of power outages.”
“Ahead of storms, PG&E stages power poles, powerlines, transformers and other electric equipment at yards throughout our service territory in preparation to restore power to affected areas safely and as quickly as possible,” Sarkissian said. “In addition, local PG&E operations emergency centers will activate in impacted regions to more efficiently allocate crews, materials and other resources to restoration efforts.”
— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
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